The Malawi High Court has overturned a lower court ruling, halting Shepherd and Mary Bushiri’s extradition to South Africa over fraud charges.
A lower court’s ruling that would have permitted Shepherd Bushiri and his wife, Mary Bushiri, to be extradited to South Africa for trial has been overturned by the Malawi High Court.
The high court in Lilongwe set aside the Chief Resident Magistrate Court’s 12 March ruling on Friday. The ruling had ordered the extradition of the self-proclaimed prophet and his wife.
The court ruled that the magistrate’s decision to extradite “does not follow from the premise that extradition is sought.”
Bushiris evade extradition as Malawi High Court overturns ruling
“The magistrate lacked brevity to stand by the course of justice to dismiss the request entirely for reasons explained above,” the ruling said.
“Dismissing all but three grounds was only a good starting point. We have completed what was omitted to be done.”
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The decision stops the process of sending the Bushiris back to South Africa. They face charges there, including fraud and money laundering.
South Africa wants the Malawian couple in connection with a R102 million fraud and money laundering case.
The couple runs the Enlightened Christian Gathering church with branches across Africa.
Couple fled to Malawi in 2020
The couple fled to Malawi in November 2020, just days after the Pretoria Central Magistrate’s Court granted them bail of R200 000 each. The bail came with strict conditions.
After this, South Africa submitted an extradition request to Malawi in December 2020. The request sought their return to stand trial on various charges, including rape and violating bail conditions.
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Following the Chief Resident Magistrate Court’s decision, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi tried to allay fears. She wanted to reassure that Bushiri and his wife could not escape justice again.
Justice Minister Kubayi said she was confident authorities will catch the fugitives if they try to escape.
“If [the Bushiris] do, then they are on Interpol. So, if they move to another country, we’ll go and look for them and bring them back.”
She added that the state will oppose Bushiri’s appeal.
